Hertz to Open 34 More Sites to Sell Its Rental Fleet Cars

Ford Motor Co.’s Hertz Corp. rental car subsidiary said Monday that it will open outlets to sell cars from its rental fleet in 34 more locations, mostly in the West and South, between now and year-end.

Hertz has already added five locations since Jan. 1 to the five it was operating last year.

“Essentially, they provide us an outlet to sell the cars we purchase without buyback programs,” Hertz spokesman Joe Russo said.

Under buyback programs, factories sell cars to daily rental fleets with the agreement to buy them back. These cars are known in the industry as “program cars.”

Hertz buys more than 300,000 cars a year, most under buyback programs, Russo said. But the number of cars it buys using other methods is increasing.

Hertz hopes to make more money selling these cars through retail outlets.

Most of the vehicles sold at the Hertz used-car outlets will be 1 year old or newer and will have been driven 20,000 miles or more, Russo said.

Hertz has already chosen Dallas, Honolulu, Nashville, New Orleans and Portland, Ore., as expansion points; it has opened two locations in San Francisco and one in San Diego.

Others scheduled to open in the next 60 days are in Atlanta and Phoenix, and a second in San Diego.